Lake Kukunor

The Nanshan Mountains, located in China, are famous for their salt lake Kukunor, the largest in Central Asia. Both the Mongolian version of the name of Lake Khuhu-Nur, which the Russians heard as Kukunor, and the Chinese version of Qinghai have the same meaning: blue lake. All names are used almost equally, many maps have two of them or even all three at once.

The area is about 4,400 km2 (varies depending on the season and water level).
The length is 110 km.
The width is about 80 km.
The maximum depth is 27 m.
The average depth is 17 m.
The volume of water is 71.6 km3.
The coastline is 360 km long.
The height above sea level is about 3205 m.

23 rivers flow into the Kukunor, which are fed by snow and rain, but not a single river flows out of it. That's why the lake is so changeable: in spring and summer, the Kukunor floods widely, and in winter it reaches its minimum size. Due to the fact that the water level in the lake is constantly jumping, there are many ancient terraces along its shores. In addition, swamps have formed in some places around Kukunor - this is also a direct result of the constantly changing size of the reservoir.

Kukunor is also characterized by large temperature fluctuations. In winter, cold air from glaciers descends onto the lake, which is why the ice on the surface of the reservoir can reach 60 cm! And in summer, due to the almost complete absence of clouds, Kukunor, on the contrary, warms up to a record 20 °C for a mountain reservoir!

Kukunor is extremely rich in fish, mainly carp. The reason for this is the siltiness of the lake. So, a naked carp, which has no scales at all on its body, is able to absorb silt in unimaginable quantities. Perhaps it is thanks to this voracious fish that Kukunor has not yet turned into a swamp.

However, if fishing on the Kukunor is excellent, then its water is unsuitable for drinking: it contains not only salt, but also alkali. That's the only reason no cities have been built on the shore of the lake – a large number of people simply cannot survive here.

The small local population, who have lived in the Kukunor area for generations, still roams. It is impossible to settle in one place here: As soon as the cattle eat up all the grass, you need to move on again. In addition, the Chinese continue to persistently send geologists to these parts in the hope of finding minerals and starting to extract at least some benefit from this lake region.

The main attractions of the lake were and still are Buddhist shrines. On an island off the western coast of Kukunor, structures that were used by hermits as shelters have been preserved. There is also an ancient temple with the poetic name Mahadeva – that is, "the heart of the lake." And the Ganjur stone, lying by the waters of the lake, is, according to legend, nothing more than a book of sacred Buddhist texts.

And yet Kukunor attracts not only Buddhists from all over the world. Ornithologists who want to see the famous Bird Island with their own eyes can often be found on its shores. To protect the nests of birds that have chosen Kukunor for breeding, the island is fenced with cement gutters. This elementary measure helped to significantly increase the population of birds.